


Running In Pairs Together

by Lady_Katana4544



Category: Vampire Academy Series - Richelle Mead
Genre: Alternate Canon, Developing Relationship, F/F, Femslash, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Second Kiss, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-29
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-20 02:08:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8232362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Katana4544/pseuds/Lady_Katana4544
Summary: I did my best to try and acknowledge the imbalance of power that is shown in the relationship between Rose and Lissa, it was definitely a dynamic that caught my attention when I last read the books. So I hope that I managed to accurately show that in this fic.Thank you to my friend and regular editor for agreeing to look this over with me for any errors that I might have missed the first time around.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rattlingbones](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rattlingbones/gifts).



> I did my best to try and acknowledge the imbalance of power that is shown in the relationship between Rose and Lissa, it was definitely a dynamic that caught my attention when I last read the books. So I hope that I managed to accurately show that in this fic.
> 
> Thank you to my friend and regular editor for agreeing to look this over with me for any errors that I might have missed the first time around.

_Rose Hathaway,_

_There is danger here at the school surrounding the princess on all sides. Take Vasilisa Dragomir away from here. Her life is in immediate danger, if she stays here. Wherever you go, protect her._

_Yours in service,_

_A Friend_

Rose stares at the unsigned little note that was addressed to her in her hand with a dark frown. She really doesn’t like the idea of her best friend and her life being threatened by anyone, no matter who they might be. And for this mysterious “friend” to address Lissa in the letter by her birth name, could only mean that it was someone who knew her pretty well was the one who wanted to hurt Lissa.

In her mind, Rose, has no doubt that the headmistress will only see her worry about Lissa being in danger as nothing more than false paranoia. Kirova might either completely dismiss Rose’s concerns about Lissa’s safety as nonsense or she might increase the number of guardians, though she feels like it wouldn’t even be enough to keep Lissa protected from whatever the danger is. Not if it’s someone close to her.

The note crumbles into a small ball inside her hand as Rose turns to consider Lissa still asleep in her bed. Through the edges of their fledgling bond, she can sense that Lissa is still deeply asleep though Rose thought she could sense a nightmare beginning to brew. If she edged herself further into the bond that they share, then Lissa would wake up before she wants her to and Rose isn’t sure that she wants that just yet.

Lissa needs the sleep because she already wasn’t sleeping well enough in Rose’s mind. Though part of her wonders why she is being given little peep shows into her best friend’s mind and unwillingly being pulled into her head at random times. It is rather disorientating and feels so weird whenever it happens.

Rose looks down at the crumpled ball in her hand and then back at Lissa. It takes less than a minute before she makes up her mind and Rose goes to wake up Lissa. Lissa wakes up with a shake of her shoulder with a soft groan and Rose is quick to stomp her guilt out of existence before Lissa has a chance to sense it.

“What is it, Rose?” Lissa asks Rose, sleep making her voice slur a little as Lissa blinks up at her as Rose turns to pick up a sweater to throw at her.

“We’re leaving, Lis. Pack lightly. Only take what clothes you think you’ll need for a few days.” Rose answers she locates a small carrying pack and puts some clothes in it.

“Why? What’s happening, Rose?” Lissa asks and Rose senses her confusion in the bond and finds a pack for Lissa to use before turning back to her.

“You trust me don’t you, Lis?” Roses asks in lieu of answering her friend’s question as she moves to hold the pack out towards Lissa.

“You know I do, Rose.” Lissa answers softly, her keenly beautiful jade-green eyes on Rose even as she takes the pack from her. Lissa’s brows are knitted and a slight frown has settled on her face as she packs some clothes into her bag.

“Then pack. _Please._ ” Rose says as she doesn’t necessarily demand Lissa to do her bidding. She doesn’t quite _have_ that sort of power like Lissa does.

“Alright.” Rose hears Lissa say as she looks out the window first to make sure there are no students or guardians awake and walking the grounds. Though it isn’t likely that she would see any of the guardians given their field experience, still it doesn’t hurt to check first, within sight lines of their room and building before she takes Lissa away from the academy.

0

Rose isn’t even surprised at how ridiculously easy it still is to leave the school and escape from the grounds all together once they find a nearby road and hitch a ride in some trucker guy’s truck. She all but shoves Lissa with their stuff into the area behind the seats with the guy’s black lab –– who immediately tries to crawl into her lap much to the amused chuckling of her owner –– and Rose quickly climbs into the passenger seat.

“Sorry about ol’ Sharry, feel free to push her away if she’s bothering you, little miss.” The truck driver said with a gap toothed smile and had introduced himself as Lee.

“Thank you, Lee. Sharry is alright just where she is for now.” Lissa answers with a soft smile as she looks up to briefly meet his kind gaze in the rear view mirror before looking away and gently starts scratching a spot between the dog’s ears. From what Rose what can tell, the lab seems to like Lissa’s gentle petting and melts into a puddle of happy dog bliss on Lissa’s lap.

“So where you two headed to? Runnin’ from parents or extended family?” Lee asks over the softly playing radio music as they drive down the slowly darkening winding road.

“Mostly just traveling. We want to see the world before reaching our final destination.” Rose answers as she watches the side mirror before Lissa has a chance to answer and feels her sadness in the bond at the thought of her family not being around for her to actually see them in person. Technically the answer isn’t a lie, but she doesn’t want to risk this human turning them into the human authorities or worse turn around and leave them on the side of the road where the school guardians will no doubt find them before dragging them back to the school grounds.

“Hmmm.” Lee hums softly in response and as he turns his attention completely to driving his truck, Rose thinks that she sees slightly dimmed flashes of lights among the trees along the road. Rose holds her breath until her eyes can no longer see the lights among the trees and feels some relief about it.

Almost immediately Rose feels Lissa’s concern in the bond.

_‘Rose?’_

Normally she would frown at Lissa attempting to communicate with her through the bond. Mostly because neither of them have any idea whatsoever what function it might serve. But right now, Rose can’t find it within her to admonish her friend for using it. Especially since right now they are sitting in a vehicle with a human, who would no doubt be listening in on a verbal conversation.

_‘Everything’s fine, Liss. Get some rest.’_

Though her friend is tired from their mad dash from their school to the side of the road, Rose feels the mulish tone to Lissa’s thoughts. However, Lissa’s presence subsides in the bond and turns her attention back to Sharry, when the dog huffs softly when the petting briefly stops. Rose hopes that Lissa’s trust in her to handle the situation they’re in now isn’t misplaced.

When they reach a dingy little highway town that neither Lissa or Rose manage to catch the name of, Rose breathes a soft little of relief though she knows well enough that they aren’t of danger of being caught by the school guardians right there. After Lee pulls into one of the truck parking spots, Rose watches quietly with Sharry while Lissa puts him under her thrall to make the human forget that he had ever seen them and Rose makes sure to take any cash that the enthralled man has on him. She isn’t fond of watching Lissa use her powers to bring others under her thrall.

Rose makes sure that they don’t linger in the dingy nameless highway town for very long. No doubt the school guardians would find this place. She wants to put as much distance between the little town and the school as she can, without hopefully attracting the attention of any wandering Strigoi that might be in the area.

0

In their newest dingy little hotel stay, Lissa sits on the edge of the one beds after exploring the room ––one of the drawers of the bedside nightstand had a notepad with a pen and an old tattered looking Bible in it–– while Rose leaves to find some food for them. She stares down at her hands thoughtfully. In her heart, Lissa wishes that she knew the reasoning behind Rose’s thought process of suddenly making them both leave the safety of the school behind. However she also trusts that Rose is able to handle whatever trouble that now will come their way.

She didn’t enjoy putting the human called Lee briefly under her thrall, even to ensure that he wouldn’t be remembering that they had been in his truck. 

_It had been done for their safety._ That is what Lissa tells herself even when she knows that Rose hadn’t asked to her to do it.

Lissa hears the door of their room start to open and looks up to watch as Rose comes into the room with some bags of food. In her heart, she knows that Rose can handle anything that comes their way.

0

Three weeks later, they reach the sunny, bright land of California after hitchhiking on five different trucks whose drivers had kind enough to stop and pick them up from the side of the road or from truck stops. 

Humans, as Rose discovers are very strange creatures. Much more numerous than the Moroi and the Dhampir races combined and very, very nosy about wanting to know your private business. Like the two older women running an apartment that looks almost rundown, one of them sneers at the sight of them together while her friend smiles and gives them a room then stays to chat with them with them for a bit.

“So where are you, young ladies from?” Samantha, as the kind woman had introduced herself as she stood at the open door of their new tiny apartment, watching them as they set their bags down on the floor.

“Rural area of Montana.” Rose answers as she keeps herself between Samantha ––who probably wouldn’t hurt a fly–– and Lissa, who is standing in their new tiny kitchen. It’s technically not a lie, given that the school itself is somewhere in the mountain range of the state, not that kind, old Samantha would know that.

“So, both of you girls are from an Amish community then?” Samantha asks, her blue-grey eyes lighting up with unsuppressed curiosity.

Rose and Lissa share a long look. How will they be able to best answer that question? Tell this human that Rose was making them go on the run, because Lissa was a princess from a vampire race called Moroi, whose life was in danger from a letter sent by an unseen threat? Probably best to go with the excuse that Samantha had given them, not that Rose actually knows who or what the Amish actually are.

Probably a human thing, still it’s an unintended excuse for them to use in this case.

“Something like that.” Rose answers calmly as she looks away from Lissa and looks at Samantha, who smiles calmly and brightly at them. If only Rose’s mother would have ever smiled at her like that. Although Rose isn’t sure if she would be elated or worried if she was ever around to see her mother smile.

“Well, no matter. You girls are welcome to stay here as long as you need to or until you have the money to find a better place.” Samantha answers with the smile still on her face. Rose feels Lissa’s swift relief in their bond at the older woman’s calm acceptance of their answer.

Three months later sees an unhappy Rose moving Lissa to the crowded streets of LA and leaving that little apartment behind when she hears word through friends that there are people in the area, asking about them in particular. She knows immediately who has come and have been asking if Rose and Lissa have been seen in the area.

Rose isn’t happy that the guardians sent after them –– well mostly sent for Lissa –– have somehow managed to track their path to California. Sure, it probably took them a while to figure out which direction that they had gone. But still being here in California and away from the dramatics of the students at the school had been good for Lissa. Lissa had gotten comfortable enough with some of their new friends that she had started smiling again.

It warms Rose’s heart to see a smile ––a soft and gentle one–– on Lissa’s face even when it isn’t aimed at her.

0

The first time, Rose kisses Lissa is in their second new apartment that they shared now with a college roommate – a human girl named Joan, who was nice to everyone and apparently was someone who liked to smile a lot. It’s done quickly enough that Lissa’s left blinking at her in surprise and Rose revels in the feeling of the fading warmth on her lips from kissing Lissa’s cheek.

Another part of her mind silently berates Rose for the slip-up, when she should be focusing on guarding her best friend from danger and not imagining taking Lissa into her embrace, to kiss her again. 

_Bad, Rose. Bad, bad, bad. That can’t be allowed to happen again._ Rose thinks silently as she shakes her head mutely and makes herself ignore the question that Lissa may well be trying to ask her in the bond as she considers the colorful flowers that their roommate put into the bright red and blue vase on the counter.

In her mind, Rose knows that she should be only thinking of how protect her best friend from the dangers all around them. However it seems that her heart is rather intent on its attempt to betray her instead.

As far as Rose knows, no guardian has ever fallen for their charge, so she is determined not to let herself be the first to fall for hers.

0

Against her best wishes, there is a repeat of that kiss. But this time, it’s Lissa kissing her on the lips while they are both drunk at a college party and Rose kisses her back. It’s sloppily done and it has the taste of cheap beer in it. Not something that she minds terribly in the moment. 

At least not until the next day, when Rose wakes up groggily and blinks blearily up at the light blue ceiling above her while she lays ––on top of the blankets she notices–– next to Lissa in her bed with a headache beating against the inside of her skull. Rolling onto her side, Rose stares at Lissa as she sleeps for a few minutes taking a moment to relish in their closeness before she will have to distance herself from Lissa.

Another two minutes pass before Lissa finally starts to stir from her sleep and Rose moves to get off of the bed, only to stop when Lissa takes hold of her wrist in a light grasp. She looks over her shoulder to meet Lissa’s hazy sleep-filled blue-eyed gaze.

“Don’t go, Rose. Please stay.” Lissa asks softly. Her tone wasn’t a pity, but it was nearly one and really as much as Rose didn’t want to admit to anything, it pulled at her heart.

“I can’t do that.” Rose answers. Her voice is equally as soft as Lissa’s is, her tone bleak. She wants to stay there, but Rose knows that she can’t. That she _shouldn’t_. Not if she wants to be a good enough guardian, who _isn’t_ romantically attached to her charge.

“I could order you to stay.” Lissa says softly and there’s a hint of something in her voice that Rose doesn’t like that she can’t put a name to it. Though she knows or at least hopes that Lissa wouldn’t command her to stay.

“You won’t.” Rose answers in a steely calm tone and tugs her wrist out of Lissa’s grasp as she stands up from the bed then moves to the partly closed door. Rose ignores the loud groaning sigh from the bed as she goes out of the bedroom. When she goes down to the kitchen, Rose finds Joan there, leaning against the countertop and holding a steaming cup of freshly made coffee in her hands as she stares into some distance that Rose can’t see. 

Joan blinks once as if she’s startling herself out some thought or another and looks up over her coffee cup at Rose. She stares at Rose calmly before she nods at the table where two glasses of water and a pill bottle of pain relievers sit on the table top.

“You came in late from that party last night. Thought you and Lissa might need that.” She says quietly as Rose reaches for one of the cups.

“You didn’t go, did you?” Rose asks as she downs two pills with some water and watches Joan shakes her head.

“No, I didn’t. Not my type of scene really. Figured the evening would be used for studying instead.” Joan answers with a shrug.

Rose hums instead of answering verbally as her eyes go to the doorway and watches as Lissa all but glides into the room. She feels Joan’s curious gaze on her and Lissa as Lissa walks past Rose towards the table where the second glass of water waits by the pill bottle. Rose makes her heart ignore the brief stab of hurt that she feels as Lissa ignores her presence.

“That’s interesting.” Rose hears Joan say quietly as she walks out of the room.

0

 _Living among humans is interesting and is usually always entertaining_ , Rose thinks as she leans back against the counter and watches the antics of her male human housemates –– Jeremy and Mike in particular –– as they push and shove while they play a videogame on the television. Joan –– from what Rose can see of her at this angle –– has a small grin on her face as she watches them play while a paperback book sits forgotten on her lap.

Joan has also declared that she would play next against the winner of the guys’ current game, which Rose actually wants to see since as far as she knows, Joan doesn’t play video games much. Or so Rose had thought anyways.

Again, humans? Always entertaining in one way or another.

A few moments pass and eventually a silent Lissa comes walking into the kitchen space, with a timid start of a smile on her face when she stops by the counter space where Rose is standing and leans into it next to her. Rose smiles at her in turn, curious at the sudden burst of nervousness in the bond from Lissa. The beautiful, blonde young woman doesn’t look at her either, which really catches her attention since usually Lissa has never been afraid to look at Rose.

“Everything okay, Lis?” Rose asks quietly intent on keeping their conversation private from their housemates as she leans towards Lissa.

“Yes. Everything is fine. I just –”, Lissa answers softly with a nod while still not looking at Rose and Rose feels a small stab of concern. What is going with Lissa?, She wonders to herself. 

After moment or two, Lissa finally does deign to look at Rose with a closed expression on her face though she can still sense Lissa’s nervousness in the bond. “Can we talk privately somewhere else, Rose?”

“Sure. In my room?” Rose nods once as she answers the question. Lissa has been acting strange lately, but there hasn’t been much time to suss out why when they have been dealing with multiple assignments being due nearly all at once. The oddness has left the bond filled with sensations that she has found hard to give any sort of name too. 

It is very weird and annoying.

“Y–Yeah. That’s fine, Rose. Just as long as we can talk.” Lissa answers with a small nervous smile and finally looks at her.

Rose smiles slightly and motions for Lissa to first before moving to follow as she glances towards the living room where their roommates slash friends are sitting; the guys still loudly playing their game. Joan however, is now sitting up straight in her seat while she’s watching the two of them over the top of her still forgotten book instead with a question of ‘is everything alright?’ in her raised brow and Rose nods an answer of ‘yes, everything is fine for the moment’. 

It feels odd to Rose as she thinks about what it must be like to have the support of a human at her back as Joan nods slightly and turns her attention back to the guys as Rose leaves the kitchen.

There’s silence between Lissa and her as they walk up the stairs together towards Rose’s bedroom which happened to be quite close to Lissa’s room. Rose opens the door to let Lissa go in first and then follows after her closing the door behind herself.

Rose watches in silence as Lissa takes a brief look around the room, no doubt taking in the sparseness of personal decorations among the school books and scattered makeup tools among the folded piles of clothes. After a moment, Lissa sits down on the chair in front of Rose’s tiny vanity dresser and looks at Rose as she moves to sit across from Lissa on the edge of her bed. The smile on Lissa’s face brightens and Rose imagines that she can feel the warmth of it as though she was standing in the light of a warm sun.

“What did you want to talk about, Lis?” Rose asks as she works to ignore the pile of lead that has settled in her stomach. What could it be that Lissa wanted to talk with her about? Rose wonders as she watches Lissa nervously clench and unclench her hands.

“I want to talk about us, Rose.” Lissa answers in a soft voice, her keen eyes watching Rose.

“What about us? The two of us as friends or as something else?” Rose asks and her own voice is equally soft in the moment.

“I – There’s something I want to say and I hope that you’ll let me say it without hopefully either of us running out of this room, Rose.” Lissa answers with a deep breath before she straightens up and pulls her shoulders back like a future queen would look. That realization leaves a painful pang in her heart briefly at what she had taken Lissa away from all those years ago as Lissa reaches out to take her hand.

“There is something that I have been wanting to say to you for a long time now, Rose.” Lissa says calmly ––though Rose can sense her nervousness in the bond–– after having taken Rose’s hands into hers.

“Rose. I like you a lot.” Lissa says as she squeezes Rose hands gently.

“I like you too, Liss. We’ve been friends for a long time.” Rose answers softly, deciding for the moment to play the confused card, wondering if what Lissa is feeling is actually her true feelings or a side effect of their bond. She wonders how far Lissa will take this, and her dearest friend shakes her head.

“Yeah. We have definitely been friends for quite a while, Rose. But what I meant, Rose, was more of that my feelings for you have changed on whatever sort of weird journey that we’ve been on from leaving the school to this very moment. What I feel for you is more than just friendship, Rose. I love you more than I think words can even possibly say.” Lissa states plainly as Rose listens to her words.

“Oh. _Oh_.” Rose says in response, because now she understands some of the nervousness that she had been sensing in the bond coming from Lissa lately. At first Rose doesn’t really know what say to Lissa in response. Partly because she can’t really deny now that she also has feelings for her best friend and she can feel Lissa’s restless energy building in the bond as the silence between them starts to get thicker.

“Lissa?”

“Yes, Rose?”

“I love you too.” Rose finally says softly in answer and rush of an emotional tidal wave crashes into her mind through the bond from Lissa. Rose gently tugs Lissa over into sitting next to her – nearly on her lap as Lissa kisses her deeply.

“No more running this time?” Lissa asks to her lips and Rose chuckles huskily.

“No promises.” Rose says in answer before they lay down on her bed together and kiss each other once more.

 

Epilogue:

Lissa and Rose are college seniors when the guardians finally do find them. Just five months before graduation with their human friends and fellow students. On her way to the parking outside of the main lecture hall with her house and cars jangling noisily together in her pocket, Rose spots one of them – a male guardian – standing before the parking lot. 

He’s watching her instead of looking for Lissa, but Rose knows that he wouldn’t have come here alone. There are other guardians nearby, either watching her as well or keeping an eye open for Lissa as well. She knows that they won’t find her at the school because, Lissa, had stayed home to study and do homework alongside her final research data while Rose volunteered take notes for her in their shared classes. And Joan had volunteered to do the same as well for Lissa in the class that she shares with Lissa. 

Rose comes to a stop before this guardian and looks at him appraisingly as he stares silently at her.

“Greetings.” Mr. Mysterious and Hot man says softly as they stare each other in silence.

Goodness, she was sure his voice alone could melt even the hardest of hearts. If he were even what she considered to be her “type” as Joan used the word then she would call him words like handsome or even hot. But perhaps he was her type in a way –even with the whole age gap thing between he and her – the way that he held himself in his posture spoke of something thrilling in her mind and here, though her heart belonged completely to Lissa.

Her lips quirk upwards at the corners as he shifts in the continued silence.

“I know why you have finally come.” Rose says confidently as she stares hard at him. 

“Do you?” He asks as he raises an eyebrow upwards at her statement.

“Yes. And neither you or any others with you now or later can force her to go back there. Neither of us are of the age that you can take us back by force.” Rose states softly as humans walk around them. Over his shoulder, she can see friends and one of her housemates laughing about something as they walk through the now busy parking lot.

“Indeed. We can not do that now. You have kept the princess well hidden and protected in her time away. But for how long do you think that you can keep her protected this way?” He answers softly with a nod.

“As long as I feel is needed.” Rose states with a slight shrug of one shoulder. “I managed to keep her protected and hidden for this long. We are also part of the human world now, so there are some who definitely would take notice of Lissa and I being gone. I don’t think you guys would want to deal with that mess.”

There’s a slight shift of the corner of his mouth moving upward like the man wants to smile, but stops himself from doing it.

“You appear to have thought of everything.” He states with a nod.

“So does that you guys will leave us alone then?” Rose asks as she watches him, waiting for some sign of the negative and that she’ll have to move Lissa again just months before their graduation.

“For now perhaps. I must first report back that the princess is alive and well.” The man says quietly as a woman comes up behind him dressed in similar attire and stands at his shoulder. Rose watches as he tilts his head towards the woman slightly, but doesn’t otherwise acknowledge her presence.

“Thank you, comrade.” Rose says with a soft sigh of relief and the man shakes his head slightly.

“Do not thank me yet. There may yet come a decision that neither of you will think very highly of.” He says frowning slightly.

“Probably. But that time hasn’t come yet.” Rose answers as her cell phone starts to vibrate in her left pocket.

The man responds with a slight nod. “Indeed. We may yet meet again, Miss Hathaway.”

“Can I know your name at least if you are going to be our future captor? Since you already seem to know my name.” Rose asks as she watches the man.

“I am Dimitri Belikov. You must keep the Princess safe, Rose Hathaway. We will be watching.” Dimitri answered softly.

“I will.”

With that said, the two guardians leave the school grounds and Rose breathes a soft sigh of relief after she can no longer see either one of them, before pulling her phone out to see that she has gotten a text from Lissa.

_Are you on your way home now? Mike said he had a “great” idea for dinner tonight. - Lissa_

Rose grins at the text, because Mike’s “great” dinner ideas usually left everyone with the idea of ordering Chinese take-out in the end.

_Yeah. On my way now. I think our future just got a little bit more brighter too. - Rose_

 

Then graduation rolls around and the night before Rose is holding a sobbing Lissa in her arms as she reads a letter telling Lissa that her uncle, Victor Dashkov, had died a couple days before they could send a letter to Lissa once the chaos had somewhat settled in the wake of his death.


End file.
